Protrusion splints to treat snoring have previously been described. The prior art describes removable teeth splints which are, for example, made of plastic, which are similar to the orthodontic appliances, or so-called scrunching splints. The removable teeth splints are worn in the mouth during sleep and affect the mandible position, the tongue position, and other soft tissues. These body parts are here kept in a forward position (=protrusion) as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,066 and EP 1 203 570 B1. A falling back of the lower jaw and the attaching soft parts is thereby prevented, especially in the supine position of the patient. This results in an increase of the throat area with a clear airway respiratory duct during sleep and a healthy night time breathing without interruption in breathing and without snoring.
The previously-described methods to manufacture protrusion splints mainly use empirical data that have been verified by experiments in the sleep laboratory to adjust the position of the protrusion. At first setup of an allegedly suitable position occurs. The patient must then spend one or more nights with the inserted protrusion splint in the sleep laboratory to check whether the treatment with the accordingly set protrusion splint delivers the desired results. These experiments are, however, complex and less then comfortable for the patient. It has furthermore been determined that the long-term use of the protrusion splint may adversely affect the temporomandibular joints. By charging the jaws in the position predetermined by the splint, the temporomandibular joints can thus be brought into a condition which is unnatural, and which can damage the temporomandibular joints. This results in the treatment not generally being carried out with protrusion splints for those patients having troubles with their temporomandibular joints.